So very lost in the task at hand, I was startled when something licked my elbow. Flinching and twisting around, I was met with a medium sized dog. My guard dropped as I chuckled and patted him. “Hey there… are you lost?” I looked around for its owner and sure enough, he was running towards us.

Pausing some decent feet away, he hunched over to catch his breath. “Sorry about that. She just took off. She doesn’t usually do this.”

I smiled my hand still patting the dog. “That’s alright.” There was no leash and I assume he was speaking the truth that she doesn’t usually run off. Surprisingly, I find myself at ease as I started a conversation, “She’s cute. What’s her name?”

“Buttercup.”

“Definitely not obvious.” I joked. Her skin tone made sense why she was named this.

He chuckled again, “Yeah, my little sister named her when we got her couple years ago. I couldn’t say no to her.”

“How old is she?”

He questioned sitting next to me, “Who, buttercup or Jaz?”

My back stiffened a bit even though he maintained his distance, “B-both, I guess.” I answered and instantly work on controlling my stutter.

If he noticed my sudden nervousness, he didn’t make it a point to show it. “Buttercup is two and Jaz is four.”

“Ah.”

“Yeah…”

There was such a massive gap between the siblings. He looked to be atleast eighteen, if not older.

“What’s your name?”

I raised a brow, “Why would I tell my name to a stranger?”

He gaped, “Because I just shared so much with you! I told you my pet’s name and age and that’s sacred information.”

I laughed. Was it really this easy to tease people and talk to him? I hadn’t done it in what seemed like forever. “I’m kidding! You should have seen the look on your face.”

He grumbled in embarrassment, “Not funny.”

I offered my name as compensation, “Khushi.”

“That’s a pretty name. Mean something?”

I nodded and then realized he probably couldn’t see that in the semi-darkness. “Yeah, it means happiness.”

How ironic, isn’t it? This name suited me perfectly years ago. Now? Not so much. Actually, not at all.

He said, “And yet your eyes hold such sadness,” causing my head to snap towards him. It wasn’t that he could see my eyes and yet he caught it and took me by surprise.

“Wh-what?”

“Sorry if I said something wrong… it’s hard to not notice that.”

“You don’t even know me.”

There was something gentle in his tone, “You don’t need to know someone to know that. It’s New Year. You’re out here when your friends are all probably out there partying. Either something is really bothering you or you’re one of those lonely people - no offense.”

“You’re here.” I directed to the fact that he wasn’t with his friends or family either. He shouldn’t be judging me.

“Only because something tells me that the pretty girl next to me needs some company, possibly a distraction from whatever it is that is bothering her.”

I could only stare at him. He was saying this much about me and I didn’t even know who he was. And, also because of the words he used to refer to me. Pretty girl? It would have been a compliment once upon a time. Now… I wasn’t sure.

I didn’t get a bad vibe off him, that I should be wary or be afraid of him.

He continued when I didn’t answer, “I’ve seen you around university, you know?”

“You have?”

He smiled to himself as he answered, “Yeah. You wouldn’t know though since you don’t look around much to your surroundings. You prefer to stay by yourself even if you’re surrounded by your friends.”

I teased even though he was speaking the truth, “So, you’re stalking. Do I need to call my brother so he can beat your ass?”

“Hey, I strongly believe in peace. No violence. Who was that guy? Gandhi? Yeah, I think that was him. Yeah?” I nodded as he looked at me for confirmation. “Yeah, Gandhi then.”

I silently judge him for not having paid attention to his history lessons but his confusion still was amusing. “You expect me to believe that?” When I raised my brows, he nodded so innocently it made me laugh. A burst of laughter that I can’t remember when the last time I had laughed this openly, genuinely and not faked it. “You’re adorable.”

He frowned, “Seriously, adorable? What am I, a kid?”

It only caused me to grin further from ear to ear, “Well, aren’t you? You let your dog be named buttercup.”

He defended, “Hey, I already told you the reason behind that! I can’t go breaking my Jaz’s heart now, can I?”

“Aww, see! You just proved my point. You are adorable.”

He growled, “Stop twisting my words,” making my heart beat faster for a quick second before I realized he wasn’t really mad. He was playing along.

A third voice interjected, “Somebody pinch me.”

We turned to see the whole group approaching us.

“Hmm?” I questioned.

Amanda replied, “You! You are talking.”

Riddhima muttered, “To a guy…” Her shock, I get. Why others?

“Okay? It’s not like I’m mute or there’s a ban on me talking to guys.”

Ron whined, “Now that’s no fair! I’ve been around you for five months now and you never, not even once, talked to me.”

Jasper backed him, “Seriously. Are you being racist or something?”

My jaw dropped as the dog’s owner burst out laughing. Speaking of, I don’t even know his name. He flaunted, “I’m just cooler than you guys. See, I own a dog and that’s a major ladies’ attraction.”

As he was talking, I noticed how everyone had said something but Arnav hadn’t. I made it a point to not look at him but his silence was tempting me to look at him even as I gave my best not to. I could feel his eyes on me. I didn’t want to see what expression he held though. It shouldn’t even matter.

“Anyway, I have to get back to my family,” He told them before turning to me, ‘It was nice talking to you, pretty girl. I’ll see you around campus sometime, yeah?”

Taken aback by ‘pretty girl’ again, I nodded in a daze. “Uh, yeah. Bye…”

He offered his name just before getting up to leave, “Aaron.” I nodded and Buttercup trailed away behind him.

Kripa questioned in exaggeration, “So, what did I miss? What happened in the hour we left you alone? Aliens didn’t abduct you? They didn’t flip your personality before returning you back to Earth?”

I shook my head in amusement. Count on her to say something like this. “Really, Krips?”

“Yes! Really! What happened? You take the highway at the mere mention of a guy and here you were talking to one. Talking. Laughing.”

I was starting to dislike that this conversation was taking place in front of the guys, but mostly Arnav. “Okay, why is that so hard to believe?”

She brushed it off pulling me up to my feet, “Know what? Forget it for now. It’s only ten minutes to midnight. I’ll grill you later.”

Riddhima asked, “So, is the list ready?”

Amanda questioned, “What list?”

Riddhima informed, “See, we do this resolution challenge each year. She gives me 5 resolutions and vice-versa. We see who wins and if neither can, we just see who could keep it longest.”

Kripa said, “Sounds fun. What kind of resolutions?”

Ron asked, “What’d you give her?”

Riddhima begins, “Oh, you know…”

I cut her off as I don’t want them to know, “Nothing important.”

Jasper commented, “I’m sure Khushi will win. Looks like she would.”

Riddhima laughed, “No, if I remember right, I’ve won more than half the times.”

I defend my honor, “That’s just because you give really impossible ones! I keep in mind that you’re my best friend when making yours. You don’t.”

She cooed, “That’s why it’s a game, honey. You’re not supposed to sympathize.”

I rolled my eyes, “Whatever. Here’s yours.” I handed over my phone for her to read the list I had typed.

She brushed off the first one as easy but when she got to the second one, she exclaimed. “Hell no! Have you not met my father?”

“What is it?” They all asked, wanting to know while I smirked. It wasn’t because of her father. That was just her excuse.

I pointed out, “You just said I shouldn’t sympathize, so I won’t. Keep reading.”

“I take it back,” She said after skimming through the rest, “I shouldn’t have convinced you to do this. You are more of a devil than I remember.”

I continued to smirk, “Years of going into hibernation can do that to you.”

Jasper commented, “What, Khushi? Evil? I refuse to believe that. Let me see that.” He took my phone and I wanted to, but I didn’t reach for it.

Even if he was simply going to read the list, it is my phone. You don’t take people’s phone without permission.

He read, “No ice-cream (no melting it and eating it as such isn’t allowed), boyfriend, enter in that singing talent contest, take swimming classes, call Armaan and not once fight or argue.”

Okay, they may not seem crazily impossible at first glance but to her, I know it is impossible. She can’t sleep without having ice-cream right before going to sleep. She won’t get a boyfriend because she has a thing for my brother - she just says her father won’t accept her dating. She loves singing but won’t sing in front of unknown people. She’s deadly afraid of drowning. And never, never can the two of them have a decent talk without some sort of argument, disagreement or literally swearing at each other and yelling like there’s no tomorrow.

Atleast, none of the conversations that have taken place in front of me have ended civilly.

Ron questioned, “You call this evil?”

Riddhima exclaimed, “They are!” and then sighed. “You won’t get it, okay?”

“Much better than what you gave me.” Ugh, why did I have to open my mouth? Now they were going to ask.

As predicted, Kripa insisted. “Now I have to know.”

Riddhima listed, “Not tie her hair up, wear proper clothes that fit her atleast once a week, join sports again, make a guy friend, and don’t hold back from them.”

Amanda commented, “I don’t see any impossible ones in that either.”

If only she knew.

. . . ∞ . ∞ . ∞ . ∞. . .